Criccieth Castle Reviews Summary

Views and Location

Pros:

• "The panoramic sea views and mountains in the distance on either side show just how beautiful this coastal area is and Criccieth castle lets you soak up the geographical eye candy in all it's rolling glory from up high."
• "Most stunning views from the castle, which is very well kept and dog friendly."
• "The views from the castle on the day of my visit were spectacular - out to sea, along the peninsula one way, along the coast the other, and also overlooking the near parts of Criccieth itself."
• "Fantastic views of the shoreline and mountains on a clear day."
• "The views across the town, sea and land are superb, including a fine view of Harlech castle."

Cons:

• "Unfortunately the castle is on a hill. This is not suitable for wheelchair users."
• "The steep climb to the castle doesn't make it particularly accessible."
• "It is a hike to the top so may not be suitable for those with limited mobility."
• "Went on a rainy day so there's no views."
• "It has a wheelchair friendly sloped path but it's extremely steep."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "A reasonable entry charge to see what remains of the Castle."
• "Free to English Heritage members or CADW members or £6.50."
• "5/5 as it is very well maintained, staff were all pleasant and the view out to the sea is stunning."

Cons:

• "Expecting to spend a couple of hours there in fact saw everything in under an hour which makes visit quite expensive."
• "The views from Criccieth castle are beautiful, unfortunately it is very small and in my opinion over priced for the little you can do there at over £5 per person."
• "To be honest the castle is small and at £22.10 for a family ticket its overpriced."
• "It's quite expensive for what's left to see of the castle, which is quite small and very ruined."
• "For us, it just wasn't worth paying £16 for a family ticket to climb up to the castle."

Facilities and Staff

Pros:

• "The gift shop and exhibition area is well presented with a bean to cup coffee service and interesting displays."
• "Staff were lovely."
• "A friendly and informative staff member greeted us and made sure we knew what was available to do on the site."
• "The facilities in this part of Wales are brilliant!"
• "The staff are friendly."

Cons:

• "Our room was noisy due to location to a fan or something."
• "I dropped a star due to them only having 1 female and 1 male toilet so I had to wait and there is no cafe, just a hot drinks machine."
• "Also staff not very friendly."
• "The lady on the tills on the day wasn't friendly or helpful at all."
• "Terrible customer service. Refused to honour our English Heritage second year membership despite presenting an email from English Heritage stating the cards had gone astray and new ones were in the post."

Accessibility and Convenience

Pros:

• "There's a good little visitor centre with lots of information and a few fun bits for the kids, clean toilets and a small gift shop."
• "There is parking close by, the information area inside is well presented and very interesting and the gift shop and toilets are again well presented."
• "The castle itself has parking bays at the base, though not all that many. However, along the road by the seafront, there are plenty of spots to leave a car, as well as a small carpark at the end of the road."

Cons:

• "Walk to top is steep."
• "The parking here is very limited, a lot of people were just parked on the side of the road."
• "A slight slope up hill not suitable for wheel chairs but some lovely views from all round the castle."
• "It's all about the views which for me were worth the entry fee alone."
• "The exhibition wasn't working correctly and there was no one interested in letting you know how it worked or how to carry out the tasks."

Overall Experience

Pros:

• "Absolutely superb."
• "Brilliant! So well thought out."
• "Visit was great fun. Inside exhibits fun for 6 year old, toilets and facilities really clean."
• "Nice location friendly staff and great breakfast."
• "Great place to visit."

Cons:

• "You can only spend around 45 minutes here but it is worth a visit."
• "We were very disappointed because we arrived too late in the afternoon to be able to enter the castle."
• "How disappointing to find on arrival and in Peak season that it was closed Wednesday's, 'unbelievable'!"
• "It only takes an hour at best to walk round and there's not much to do compared to the larger castles."
• "Nothing much to see, compared to the other castles in Wales."